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Charm and Concrete in Bratislava

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AS I step inside the lemon yellow 13th-century Franciscan church, the oldest preserved building in the jewel-like old center of Bratislava, I am greeted with music.

From a gallery above comes a burst of trombone fanfare, then a brilliant Baroque fugue on a stately pipe organ. The golden notes dance off the Baroque ornamentation of the church interior, a rich private concert for me and the few elderly women kneeling in prayer among the pews.

The music stops abruptly, then begins again; it's just organ practice, of course.

I leave, and the music follows me, slowly fading, as I dawdle up the sunny street past the peach-colored facade of an 18th-century mansion.

This is one face of Bratislava, Czechoslovakia's "other" capital; it is capital of the Slovak Republic, which, along with the Czech Republic, forms the Czechoslovak federal state.

About 200 miles southeast of Prague, a little over 100 miles northwest of Budapest, only 40 miles down the Danube from Vienna, Bratislava's quiet charms have long stood in the shadow of these larger and much more magnificent Austro-Hungarian capitals.

Today, there is still much to delight a visitor in this city where everything is in walking distance and nothing really overwhelms. But the city has another face, too; one just as impressive and just as hard to ignore.

A busy highway built by the Communist authorities two decades ago slams through the heart of the old city, skimming within inches of the Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral before arching onto the huge Slovak National Uprising Bridge crossing the Danube. On the other side of the river, rank after rank of anonymous, ugly housing blocks -- the much-vaunted new Petrzalka suburb -- stretch into the distance.

In his 1989 book "Danube," the Italian scholar Claudio Magris wrote that Central Europeans "are ignorant of the science of forgetting." That Bratislava is still known by three distinct names -- Bratislava in Slovak, Pressburg in German and Pozsony in Hungarian -- shows how memories here refuse to die.

The city was founded about 1,000 years ago and for centuries it was mainly German. Administratively, it was part of Hungary and ruled by the Hapsburgs; it even served as Hungarian capital for two and a half centuries starting in the mid-1500's. The local Slovak people themselves were long oppressed.

Until Czechoslovakia emerged as an independent state after World War I, Bratislava was regarded as almost an outlying suburb of Vienna, reached in an hour or so by a direct tram and perfect for excursions to the theater or to the famous local vineyards and wine taverns.

During World War II, Bratislava was capital of a nationalistic Slovak puppet state set up by the Nazis; the Communists expanded it into an industrial center.

Since the Velvet Revolution toppled Communist rule in 1989, Slovak nationalism has pushed to the surface, with militants calling again for an independent Slovak state. Communist monuments have been defaced and street names with Communist connotations are being changed.

One of the best places to start a visit is by getting a bird's-eye view from the balcony encircling the tower of 14th-century Michalska Gate, the only remaining gate of the old fortified city. Straddling Michalska Street at about the geographic center of the city, it now houses an armaments museum. Below its elongated bulbous dome, the tower grants a 360-degree view of old and new town alike, from the red-tiled rooftops in the historic center to the mighty hilltop castle just above, all the way out to the factories and new developments in the distance. (A fold-out city map will help give a good orientation. The best, available at many newspaper kiosks, is a large-scale plan of town monuments, which uses color codes to distinguish the era of the most important historical buildings.) Though with 450,000 people -- a bit over one-third the size of Prague -- Bratislava's center is quite compact. Most of the monuments are concentrated in and around what was once the ancient walled city, much of which is now a pedestrian precinct less than half a mile in diameter.

Even the four-turreted castle, which dominates the town dramatically from its hilltop perch, is within easy walking distance. On the broad, rocky heights strategically controlling the Danube, archeologists have found evidence of prehistoric settlements. A fortified defense structure has existed here since at least the fifth century. Many times rebuilt, the castle burned down in 1811 and for 150 years presented a romantic set of ruins. The structure was fully restored in the 1950's and 60's and now houses part of the Slovak National Museum, whose exhibits are labeled only in Slovak.

The most precious single exhibit is well worth contemplating, even without detailed information: an early paleolithic carving from mammoth bone of a female torso, it is a "Venus" about two inches high, dating back 25,000 years and excavated from a site near the Vah River. It is included in an exhibition of archeological treasures near the entrance of the castle.

The narrow streets of the historic center are themselves something of a museum of architectural styles. There are fine Gothic buildings, such as the Franciscan church and the cathedral; Renaissance structures including several houses on Michalska Street, and Art Nouveau buildings including the fantastic Church of St. Elizabeth on Bezrucova Street, known as the Blue Church because of its brilliant coloring. Another Art Nouveau building, a former bank on April 4 Square, has a pleasant cafe-cum-art gallery on its ground floor.

Most buildings in the old section, however, are elegant pastel-colored Baroque, rococo and neo-Classical structures dating from around the reign of Maria Theresa in the mid- to late 18th century. Many were the mansions and palaces of noble families.

Many buildings have been well restored, and restoration continues on others. Several are used as galleries or museums, including the 18th-century Mirbach Palace across the street from the Franciscan church near Dibrovovo Square, part of the Municipal Art Gallery, and the arcaded Water Barracks on Razusovo, the main street along the Danube, where the Slovak National Gallery, with its controversial ultra-modern new wing, is situated.

Among the most charming corners is the area around the old town hall, now the Municipal Museum. The building is a striking Gothic stucture with a 14th-century tower and lovely, two-story arcaded courtyard where concerts are held in the summer.

The Town Hall faces a shady L formed by April 4 and Dibrovovo Squares. Across Kostolna Street is the exquisite Jesuit Church from the late Renaissance, and around the corner is the wide piazza dominated by the stately broad facade of the former Primate's Palace, built in 1781.

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The so-called House of the Good Shepherd on Zidovska Street, dating from the 1760's and considered one of the most important examples of a rococo upper-middle-class home in Central Europe, now houses a museum spotlighting Bratislava's once famous makers of watches and clocks. The tall, narrow building, beautifully decorated with stucco, stands almost directly opposite the cathedral, right on the other edge of the raw concrete gash of the crosstown highway.

Zidovska Street means Jewish Street, and part of what the highway and bridge complex destroyed was the Jewish neighborhood, including the imposing, twin-domed synagogue. Under the Communists, the new construction had to be praised as modernization. As one guidebook puts it, "From year to year, Bratislava is transforming into a new modern socialist city, where the future unites with the old historic city core."

Since the Velvet Revolution, young people have painted big pictures of the synagogue and other leveled buildings on the concrete pavements and walls below the highway, surrounding the drawings with the lament, "Here there were houses; here there was a synagogue."

The inescapable impact of the Communist building boom on Bratislava recently led the Slovak Culture Minister, Ladislav Snopko, to describe the city as a skansen, or open-air museum, of Communist ideals.

In fact, the city's entire complex of buildings and monuments, from the massive castle to the Gothic Franciscan church to the concrete wilderness of the housing suburb across the Danube, makes it more than that: a skansen, perhaps, of the entire sweep of Central European history. SIGHTS AND STOPS FOR VISITORS

Getting There

Bratislava is only 40 miles from Vienna, from which it can be reached by car, train, bus or even boat along the Danube. There are also train connections with Prague and Budapest, and a four-lane highway links Bratislava with Prague -- a little over 200 miles. Americans do not need visas for Czechoslovakia. Where to Stay

The country code for dialing Czechoslovakia is 42 and the city code for Bratislava is 7.

The Forum Hotel (Mierove Street; 34814), on the edge of the old town, is far and away the most luxurious hotel in Bratislava. At $133 for a double room including breakfast it costs considerably less than luxury hotels in other major cities. It also has good, affordable restaurants.

Centrally situated, less expensive choices are the Kyjev (2 Rajksa; 57082) and the Devin (4 Riecna; 330851) with double rooms costing between $50 and $70. Where to Eat

At the Arkadia (3 Beblaveho Street; 335650), just below the castle, it is possible to eat a fine meal for well under $10. Service and decor are much more gracious than in most local restaurants. The grilled goose liver is delicious.

Local residents recommend the Madarska (Hviezdoslavovo Square; 334883) near the National Theater.

The fish restaurant Rybarsky Cech (1 Zizkova Street; 313049) in an atmospheric rococo building along the Danube is also highly recommended.

If you care more for the view than food and drink, try the flying saucer-like restaurant-cafe high above the Slovak National Uprising Bridge. Night Life

For an informal evening, the Stara Sladovna (32 Cintorinska; 562371), or OldMalt House, is a beer hall so big that it is locally known as Mammoth. The restaurant upstairs serves good, inexpensive food, under $4 for a full meal.

Bratislava night life is concentrated in wine taverns, which often feature Gypsy or Slovak folk music. One of the best known is the Velky Frantiskani (Dibrovovo Square; 333073) in a centuries-old building. Museums

Museums are generally open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. The entry fee ranges from 6 to 30 cents but can change without notice. Few museums provide information in English.

Slovak National Gallery (2 Razus Embankment) features painting and sculpture, and includes a fine Slovak Gothic collection.

The Bratislava Information Office (13 Sturova; 55280) is open every day but Sunday.

Mozartov Dom (10 Jiraskova Street) is headquarters of the Public Against Violence political movement, which helped lead the Velvet Revolution in Slovakia. It is a complex including vegetarian restaurant, cultural center, cafe, gallery and shop selling souvenirs. -- R. E. G.

A version of this article appears in print on March 10, 1991, on Page 5005008 of the National edition with the headline: Charm and Concrete in Bratislava. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe